1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to a cleaning apparatus for painter's tools and, more particularly, to a paint roller cleaner apparatus.
One of the useful tools available to the painter today is the paint roller. It enables both the professional and the amateur to cover an area much more quickly and with less effort than a paint brush, the old standard, particularly of professional house painters. One problem related to the paint roller is the difficulty in cleaning it when the job is done. The roller has a much larger surface area than a brush and with the usual fairly dense nap is difficult to clean by hand.
Another problem for painters is that of changing colors during a job. Because of the time and effort required to clean a roller using techniques of the prior art, many painters opt to use a clean roller for each subsequent color. This results in multiple rollers requiring cleaning at the completion of a job. Human nature being what it is, there is always the temptation to discard the used rollers after the job. This is costly because good, professional quality roller covers are expensive. In addition dirty rollers entering the solid waste stream may provide an environmental hazard.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Previous efforts to provides apparatus and methods for cleaning paint rollers may be found in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,873,364 for PAINT ROLLER SLEEVE WASHER, issued Mar. 25, 1975 to Joseph L. Smith discloses a paint roller horizontally mounted on a spindle in a downwardly opening hollow housing.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,402,333 for PAINT ROLLER CLEANING DEVICE, issued Sep. 6, 1983 to Leon E. Frizzell, discloses a paint roller cleaner using a water jet to simultaneously wash and spin a paint roller.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,508,465 for APPARATUS FOR CLEANING PAINT ROLLERS, issued Apr. 2, 1985 to J. Berkley Orton discloses a garden hose attachment with a combination soaker and scraper to clean a roller.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,152 for PAINT ROLLER CLEANER APPARATUS, issued Nov. 24, 1987 TO Carl G. Hibberd teaches a paint roller cleaner having a plurality of fan jets directed at the roller being cleaned.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,095,928 for PAINT ROLLER CLEANING DEVICE, issued Mar. 17, 1992 to William A. Phipps also discloses a paint roller cleaner with multiple jets impinging on a roller.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,769 for PAINT ROLLER COVER CLEANING DEVICE, issued Aug. 16, 1994 to Michael E. Howe discloses a drum device with a garden hose attachment spraying the roller.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,413,133 for PAINT ROLLER CLEANING DEVICE, issued May 9, 1995 to Frank A. Russell teaches a roller cleaner with a multiple orifices spraying the roller.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,399 for PAINT ROLLER CLEANER, issued Jan. 30, 1996 to Dale A. Hannah discloses a paint roller cleaner in which the roller is separated from the frame and mounted on a freely rotatable support frame with an internal spray tube at the center and an external spray tube on the outside of the housing with multiple spray nozzles.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,505,220 for DUAL TANGENTIAL SPRAY PAINT ROLLER CLEANER, issued Apr. 9, 1996 to Joseph D. Gorecki discloses a paint roller cleaner having a tubular casing with four legs and two spray bars and an enclosed bottom surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,459 for PAINT ROLLER CLEANING APPARATUS, issued Nov. 24, 1998 to William G. Bisby teaches a paint roller cleaning apparatus having a hollow pipe with notches at a lower end. A tubular spray arm having a plurality of spaced apart apertures is rotatably mounted within the tube. A clip on the exterior of the tube grips the support rod of a paint roller.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,935,342 for PAINT ROLLER CLEANER, issued Aug. 10, 1999 to Phillip B. Boyd teaches a paint roller cleaner having a tubular body within which a paint roller to be cleaned is held so that fluid is sprayed thereupon by a traversing nozzle.
None of the patents and published patent applications, taken singly, or in any combination are seen to teach or suggest the novel paint roller cleaning and drying apparatus of the present invention.